Joshua Brennan

Brennan came to his Dad while in High School and said "Dad I just want to serve my country when I graduate". He said I

want it hard I don't want it easy. As a result he joined the U.S. Army to serve in the Airborne Infantry. He joined at a time

when the United States was already at war in Iraq and Afghanistan knowing he would likely have to serve in one or both

conflicts. Josh was assigned to the elite 173rd Airborne stationed in Vicenza Italy. While stationed there he excelled in his

unit to be awarded the Soldier Of The Year award for his unit. He served a 12 month deployment with the 173rd Airborne in

2005 in Afghanistan. The deployment was challenging for all in the unit and many soldiers from the unit were lost during

the battle. Josh deployed for a second tour of duty with the 173rd Airborne to Afghanistan in 2007. This time they were sent

to the Korengal Valley also known as the "Valley Of Death". Approximately 80% of all bombs dropped in Afghanistan were

dropped in the Korengal Valley. Josh reported home that this tour was different than the last and way more dangerous. He

said that they were being engaged by enemy fire from the Taliban 27 of 30 days in the last month and averaged 3 firefights a

day with the most being 12 firefights in one day. In September of 2007 Josh was shot in the leg while their unit was pinned

down on a mountain top in the valley. He was bandaged up by the medic (Hugo Mendoza who was later killed with Josh Oct

25, 2007) and he continued to fight on the mountain for 12 hours. He later led his men from the point man position down the

mountain back to the base camp despite being shot.

On October 25, 2007 Josh and the unit were on a mission called "Rock Avalanche"in a nearby village where they had been

taking fire and had called in an airstrike the previous day killing several people and injuring others. When they got up to

leave the village the Taliban had set up a L shaped ambush and were only 30 feet away. His friend Sal Giunta took action

to break up the shaped ambush and would later be the first living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor since

Vietnam in 40 years. The Department of Defense reports the following:

On Oct. 25, 2007, the platoon was on a night patrol in the Korengal Valley, the most dangerous valley in northeastern

Afghanistan. The soldiers were going single-file down a steep, rocky crest when they were ambushed by Taliban fighters,

separating them from the unit's two other platoons. Giunta quickly ran for cover and started to fire back when he saw his

squad leader get hit in the helmet and go down. Giunta ran toward the injured man, dodging gunfire to reach him and make

sure he was OK. In the process, Giunta was hit twice - one bullet hit his body armor, and the other splintered a gun strapped

to his back. Despite the close call, Giunta continued to fire back and started throwing grenades so he and other soldiers

could slowly move forward to reach their wounded comrades. When they made it to the injured men, Giunta realized the

point man of the platoon - his best friend, Sgt. Josh Brennan - was missing. So, he kept going forward on his own. When

Giunta reached the top of the hill, he saw two Taliban insurgents attempting to carry a severely wounded Brennan away.

Giunta didn't hesitate and went after them, killing one insurgent and wounding the other, who ran away. When Giunta got

to Brennan, he pulled his friend to cover and started giving him aid as the squad caught up to provide security. Giunta kept

Brennan alive until he was evacuated off the ridge about a half hour later, but Brennan died the next day.

Sgt. Joshua Brennan received 3 Bronze Star Medals one with Valor and 2 Purple Heart Medals. He is buried in the McFarland

Cemetery at Broadhead Stand Marsh Rd.

US ARMY